This invention is related to a method and mechanism for selecting clothing, and other items, based on the capabilities of animals to optically distinguish between different colored objects. The invention finds special utility in the process of selecting patterns and colors for outdoor clothing worn by hunters, especially deer hunters. The invention can also be used for selecting colored objects to be used in animal training.
In the field of animal hunting, hunters often select camouflage clothing and equipment designed to optically blend into the specific natural vegetation and environment viewed by the animal being hunted, e.g., a deer, bear, elk, or coyote.
Unfortunately, animals have different wavelength vision ranges than humans, so that equipment selections made on the basis of human vision capabilities do not always achieve the desired camouflage effect.
Human vision generally covers the wavelength spectrum from about 400 nanometers to about 700 nanometers wavelength. The human eye contains photoreceptors in the retina of two general types, namely rod photoreceptors and cone photoreceptors. The cones are located primarily in the center of the retina, while the rods are located in a ring-like pattern around the cones. Each photoreceptor, i.e., rod or cone, responds to, or is spectrally sensitive to, incoming light of a particular wavelength to generate impulses that are eventually supplied to the person's brain as colors or images.
In the human eye the rod photoreceptors respond to wavelengths in the range from about 400 to about 650 nanometers with the peak spectral sensitivity being about 507 nanometers. The cone photoreceptors respond to wavelengths in the range from about 400 to about 700 nanometers with the peak spectral sensitivity being about 555 nanometers.
Rod type photoreceptors are primarily responsible for vision in dim light, while the cone type photoreceptors are primarily responsible for vision in bright light. The rod type photoreceptors are thus more sensitive to incoming light than the cone photoreceptors.
The nature of the image sensed by the person's brain is related to the character of the photoreceptors in the retina of the eye. The human eye response covers the entire wavelength spectrum from about 400 nanometers to about 700 nanometers, such that humans can see a range of colors covering the entire spectrum, from violet to red, with no apparent breaks or discontinuities.
As indicated above, the rod photoreceptors are more receptive to low light levels than the cone photoreceptors, so that the rod photoreceptors are the predominant light sensors in low light conditions. The rod photoreceptors act in the lower portion of the spectrum so as to detect shape and contrast. In humans, the cone photoreceptors respond to the bright light over the entire visible spectrum so as to detect color and fine detail under bright light conditions. The rod and cone photoreceptors function in complementary fashion to provide a colored image under bright light conditions, and to provide black-gray contrast images under low light conditions.
The optical capabilities of animals are somewhat restricted, or at least different, as compared to the optical capabilities of humans. For example, in the white-tailed deer eye the rod photoreceptors respond to wavelengths in the range from less than 400 to about 630 nanometers with the peak spectral sensitivity about 490 to about 505 nanometers. The cone photoreceptors respond to wavelengths in the range from less than 400 nanometers to about 650 nanometers with the peak spectral sensitivity about 530 to about 545 nanometers. The white-tailed deer thus has different perception of color than the color perception of humans.
Similar differences exist with respect to the color and image perceptions of other animals. For example, dogs have cones and rods in the eye retina that enables them to have fair vision, both in the day, and in the night; the night vision of mountain lions and wolves is superior to that of humans. For many wildlife animals, the color perception is different than that of humans. The differences are attributable to differences in the numbers and characteristics of the rod photoreceptors and cone photoreceptors.
The present invention relates to a method and mechanism, whereby the optical capabilities of wildlife animals can be taken into account when selecting camouflage clothing, used in animal hunting, animal observation (photography), or selecting objects for animal training.
The invention can be embodied in a monocle used by a person when selecting clothing or equipment to be used while viewing or hunting wildlife animals. The monocle is constructed to include a light filter passing light waves that are within the vision parameters of the animal during a specific light intensity.
When the specially designed monocle is used by a person during the process of comparing outdoor clothing against the background environment, the process becomes more informative, since the person is enabled to compare the clothing and background pattern and coloring from the animal's perspective; i.e., the clothing and background scenery are compared as the animal would view them, whereby contrasts and optical similarities are more correctly determined.
The invention can be used either to provide visual similarities or visual contrasts, e.g., to design camouflage clothing, to design clothing that would alert a specific animal to the person's presence, or to design recognizable objects to be used for animal training.
Different monocular mechanisms, responsive to different rod and cone photoreceptor wavelength ranges of different animals, can be utilized according to the invention. The invention was devised specifically as an aid for selecting camouflage clothing, animal friendly clothing for hiking, wildlife photography, animal training, deer hunters, as well as the hunting of other animals etc., although the invention can be used for other purposes, e.g., the design of clothing and items related to animal vision capabilities.